Medal ‘pinnacle’ in 470 class at Rio Games
nationals for teams, and I also won the senior high school nationals for individuals, so definitely a highlight there. We also competed internationally, including the junior world championships, and came second in the world junior team event, with myself coming third in the individual event.”
But she did not shine in only aerobics, winning medals at both the Auckland and national events for track and field in the triple jump, high jump and long jump, not to mention playing in the first XI football team who won the national title. That explosiveness needed in aerobics served her well in other sports.
Aitken also won the New Zealand Pacific Island Bursary scholar of the year and landed several academic and sporting university scholarships for the University of Auckland.
Aitken and her sisters continued to perform strongly in aerobics — highlights being fourth at the 2002 open world championships and bronze at the 2004 World Cup — until they retired from that elite sport at 24.
But they were never inactive and in 2007 combined with four men to win the world hip hop championships as a team in 2007.
Aitken has worked at Microsoft for almost 10 years and has been in Seattle since 2010.
“I’m working as the business manager for the corporate vice-president of WW retail sales and marketing so, unfortunately, I haven’t had too much time to be involved in sport,” she said.
Aitken is still the sole supreme winner out of the sport of aerobics.